North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT) has been found guilty of a health and safety breach following the death of a patient on one of its wards in 2015. The verdict was delivered at a recent Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting, where Carol White, Deputy Chief Operating Officer at NELFT, provided an update on the case. A charge of corporate manslaughter against the trust was dismissed.
White informed the committee that the jury found the trust guilty of a health and safety breach, but not guilty of corporate manslaughter. She also noted that an individual member of staff was also found guilty of a health and safety breach, but not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter.
We continue to recognise the distress that this has caused for the family and friends of the individual and offer our condolences, which we will continue to do,
White said.
The incident occurred in 2015 and has been subject to a lengthy legal process. The sentencing is expected in early November, after which NELFT will consider the impact on the trust and wider NHS services. Councillor Sweden requested that the committee be updated on the changes that are going to be made in light of the whole legal process.
The Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee met on Thursday 23 October 2025 at the Town Hall in Romford. The committee heard updates from North East London (NEL) Integrated Care Board (ICB), Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT), and NELFT. The agenda and public reports pack from the meeting are available online. Public reports pack 23rd-Oct-2025 16.00 Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee and Agenda frontsheet 23rd-Oct-2025 16.00 Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee are available to view.